Serving the needs of the Inland Region since 2009

transitional housing | reentry services | policy advocacy | civic engagement

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A Holistic Approach to Reentry

About Us

For over a decade, we’ve helped people in the Inland Empire and greater Los Angeles area transition to independent lives after experiencing homelessness and/or incarceration, serving over 1,400 individuals and families.

Our caring staff and volunteers are here to help through these difficult times. We know that there is life after homelessness and/or incarceration because most of us have experienced it ourselves.

Upholding the rights of individuals and families impacted by the criminal justice system is a priority to us. Learn more about the Family Reunification, Equity, & Empowerment (FREE) Project, Riverside All Of Us or None, and Participatory Defense of the Inland Empire here.

WE KNOW WHAT KEEPS US SAFE

Justice Initiatives

At Starting Over, we are familiar with your journey, having walked it ourselves. We use our lived experience and expertise to support you through our supportive housing, harm reduction, and employment development programs.

What Starting Over, Inc. Participants are Saying

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Worker’s Rights
Worker’s Rights

Learn about worker’s rights in California, including retaliation, sick leave, how to file a complaint, & more

Opioid Overdose Prevention And Harm Reduction
Opioid Overdose Prevention And Harm Reduction

Harm Reduction and treatment resources in Riverside to prevent opioid overdoses

Prosecutor Initiated Resentencing (PIR) Dashboard
Prosecutor Initiated Resentencing (PIR) Dashboard

This dashboard was created to provide publicly available information about the implementation of California’s Prosecutor Initiated Resentencing Pilot Program in Riverside County.

This project was completed with support from the Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative.

Know Your Rights: Brady Violations
Know Your Rights: Brady Violations

Brady violations occur when prosecutors fail to provide a defendant or criminal defense attorneys with any favorable evidence to a defendant’s case. This comprehensive guide that explores Brady violations was developed in 2023 by SOi intern Alex Wise.

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California jails are holding thousands fewer people, but far more are dying in them

“Some of California’s deadliest jails are in Riverside County, where 45 people have died since Jan. 1, 2021 […] Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged almost five years ago that the state would take a stronger hand to prevent deaths in the 57 jail systems run by California county sheriffs. In every year since, more people have died in California jails than when Newsom made that pledge — hitting a high of 215 in 2022. Tulare, San Diego, Kern, Riverside and San Bernardino counties’ jails set records.” Read more at CalMatters.

Why Riverside County must dismantle the coroner-sheriff relationship

Distrust, significant risk of bias, and lack of transparency are growing issues within the combined sheriff/coroner’s office. Read an opinion piece by Starting Over, Inc. director Vonya Quarles on the need to separate the Riverside County sheriff and coroner’s offices.

With a Power-Building Approach to Housing in California, a Pooled Fund Evolves and Expands

Starting Over, Inc., is an example of how the fund is ensuring that organizations from across the state both receive support and help guide the fund's work. The organization provides transitional housing and reentry services for formerly incarcerated individuals in Riverside County, which is part of the Inland Empire region. It also engages in advocacy and civic engagement.”

Riverside County to study separating coroner from Sheriff’s Department

On December 5th, after hearing from impacted community (including Lisa Matus, whose son died in Riverside custody, and Vonya Quarles, director of Starting Over), the Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to conduct a study on separating the Sheriff and Coroner’s office. Separating these offices is a long-awaited step toward closure and accountability for the families of community members who died in custody.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California unveils a massive mural that in the tradition of public artworks depicts figures in the fight for civil liberties and civil rights in Southern California, including Starting Over, Inc. co-founder and Executive Director Vonya Quarles